


Andromeda Six Gets a Cat

by Morgan_de_Andromeda



Category: Andromeda Six (Visual Novel)
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:20:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24156541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morgan_de_Andromeda/pseuds/Morgan_de_Andromeda
Summary: Morgan finds a cat on Cursa and he adopts them. Nobody gets a choice in the matter.
Relationships: Damon Reznor/Traveler
Comments: 1
Kudos: 21





	Andromeda Six Gets a Cat

**Author's Note:**

> Still backfilling some fics I posted in Discord. Have Keaton's origin story!

Damon kept half an eye on Morgan the moment they stepped onto Cursa.

“You can stop staring at me, I’m not going to vanish into thin air,” Morgan eventually grumbled.

For all their naivete, they were annoyingly perceptive sometimes. Still, Damon tried to play it off.

“Mighty pompous of you to assume you’re always the center of attention,  _ You’re Highness _ .”

They rolled their eyes with a smirk.

“Please,” they said dismissively. “You got annoyed when I tried to stay close on Teranium, but now it’s like I’m on a six foot leash. Also, you’re always behind or to the side of me, so you can keep me in your vision.”   
  
Damon smirked. “Maybe I just enjoy the view.”   
  
Morgan snorted, looking at him in amused disbelief.

“Your imagination’s doing a lot of the work, then.”

Morgan did tend to wear multiple layers, and any old clothing they had borrowed from the crew during their stay, even from Ayame, was fairly long. They’d even managed to knit a scarf on the way to Cursa, though where they’d acquired needles and yarn was a mystery they refused to reveal. In all, there was admittedly little to directly admire. Still, Damon refused to admit defeat and with a few long strides made his way to their flank.

“I have a  _ very good _ imagination,” he murmured, pleased at the way their neck flushed.

“You’ll be  _ very _ disappointed, then,” they retorted with an embarrassed glare.

“Can you two stop flirting and focus,” Ayama scolded, but with a snicker that betrayed her amusement.

“Look, now you’ve gotten  _ Ayame _ mad,” Damon stage-whispered. “That’s just  _ impressive _ .”   
  
“I don’t think Ayame expects  _ me _ to focus,” Morgan retorted, “because  _ I’m _ not supposed to know where we’re going.”

Damon frowned and suddenly looked serious. 

“You should always be focused on Cursa,” he grunted, “unless you want to die.”

Morgan seemed slightly nervous at the change in tone, but simply nodded and continued trying to keep close to the group.

Admittedly, it had been a few years since Damon had been on Cursa (he avoided it as much as possible), so eventually they stopped by a shopkeeper to get their bearings. He got directions easily enough, but Bash and Calderon were interested in supplies for the ship, so the rest of the group loitered for a while.

With a start, Damon suddenly realized he hadn’t seen Morgan for a few minutes. After a few tense moments of looking around, he saw them, still within eyesight but a little ways off and crouching down near an alley.   
  
_ A fucking alley?! Do they have a death wish?! _

Damon swore under his breath and quickly strode over to them. He was about to lay into them when they looked up with a look of genuine delight accompanied by a quiet  _ meow _ .

“Damon! I found a cat!”

He struggled and failed to maintain his annoyance in the face of a joyful traveler and an enormous, adorable gray tabby.   
  
“Hey there buddy,” he cooed, crouching down and forgetting both his anger and his dignity.

The cat was a little wary of Damon at first, but upon sniffing his outstretched hand it rubbed its head against it and began purring loudly.

“I saw him staring at me from the alley,” Morgan murmured. “He’s incredibly friendly, do you think he has an owner?”

“I doubt it. For most people cats are a convenient means of pest control at best,” Damon scowled, “...and pests themselves at worst.”

They glanced at him nervously, but was distracted by the cat rubbing its body against them. They grinned and stroked the animal in response.

“REZNOR!”   


Damon sighed, and nudged Morgan with no small amount of regret.

“C’mon, Newbie, Captain’s calling.”   
  
“Bye, friend!” Morgan chirped, giving the cat one last scratch behind the ears.

But as they returned to the group, it was clear the cat did not plan on leaving. It trotted up, quickly matching their pace and weaving between Morgan’s legs while trilling. By the time they caught up, Calderon was glaring between Damon and the animal suspiciously. 

“We don’t have time to be playing with strays,” he snapped.

“You had time to haggle with the shadiest shopkeep on the block,” Damon retorted.   
  
Caldron pinched his nose and inhaled slowly. As he exhaled, he looked like he was about to tell them off again, but instead he looked down with surprise. Damon followed his gaze to see the cat standing between the Captain and Morgan, hair standing on end. It was actually an impressive sight; the cat was at least four feet from head to tail and had a longer coat, so its intimidation display was, appropriately, intimidating. Cal glanced at Morgan.

“Can you shoo that thing away so we can get back to work?”

Instead the cat suddenly crouched and jumped, clinging to a surprised and wobbling Morgan. 

“It’s okay, buddy,” they said, wrapping their arms and trying to steady the animal. It only made itself more comfortable and hissed at Calderon. It was almost comical to see a small, five-foot-nothing human trying to contain an annoyed cat of that size. Damon shot the Captain a smirk.

“Sorry, Commander, I don’t think cats take orders.”   
  
“Let’s keep going,” Morgan said nervously, holding the cat to their chest. “Maybe he’ll get bored and wander off before we’re done.”

“Fine,” Calderon relented, still visibly annoyed. He shot Damon another look and said, “you said you knew where the contact was, so show us.”

Contrary to what Morgan said, the cat did  _ not _ lose interest, and if anything further asserted its intention to stay with them, or at least Morgan. By the time they were ready to return the ship, it was comfortably nestled in Morgan’s arms and hissed at anything or anyone that came near them, unless it was Damon providing more ear scritches. He’d been trying to quietly persuade Calderon to let it stay on board, but the Captain was not exactly receptive to the resident assassin’s requests.

At last they were at a standstill next to the Andromeda Six.

“Leave it,” Calderon commanded.

Morgan looked down at the stubborn animal, then back at the Captain.   
  
“I, uh--” 

They were quickly interrupted by Damon.

“You know, you didn’t let me keep the  _ last _ cat I wanted.”   
  
“Because it was a  _fucking tiger_ .”   
  
“Tigers are cats.”

“For fuck’s sake, Reznor--”   
  
“I’ll take care of him,” Morgan interrupted. They squirmed, but seemed resolute despite the heavy gaze of the two men. “He seems to like me, and I think I can take care of a cat.”

All eyes were on Calderon. After a long pause, he sighed.

“Fine,” he acquiesced, “but  _ you _ , Morgan, are responsible for its care.”

“Understood,” they replied seriously, “Keaton will be safe with me.”

Despite themself, it was obvious they were ecstatic. The newly christened Keaton lept from their arms and boarded the Andromeda Six as if it were his own, fluffy tail high and confident as he took in the scents of his new home.

“Look at it this way, Cal,” Damon superficially tried to calm the Captain, “Trigger-Happy has a giant lizard; if anything a cat is much more manageable. 

“Shut up,” Calderon growled.

Despite the Captain’s protests, the effects on their newest member could not be overstated, which itself seemed to benefit the crew. Keaton was wary, but ultimately accepting of the rest of the crew so long as Morgan was nearby. Even he and Calderon seemed to come to an understanding of sorts. So long as he and Morgan were safe, Keaton didn’t seem to have much issue (or interest, really) with the rest of the crew, and Morgan was in higher spirits than they had been since leaving Teranium.

“So,” Damon said when at last he had a moment with Morgan. “Keaton. That was fast; is that some important name from your past?”

Morgan laughed that pleasant loud loud laugh Damon had unconsciously come to seek.

“No, I think that was just a name I liked.”

“Are you even sure he’s male?”

Morgan shot Damon a thoroughly unimpressed look. 

“He’s a cat, Damon; he’s shown me his butt a dozen times.”

Damon could only cackle in response.

“Fair.”

He scratched Keaton’s ears, and in response the cat flopped on his back. But there was a strangely intelligent look in his eye as Damon stroked his sides.

_ Morgan is My Person, _ the look said,  _ hurt them and I’ll destroy you. _

Damon grinned a sharp, predatory grin. 

“A good cat you’ve got there,” he observed.

Morgan’s eyes darted between Damon and Keaton curiously. They were clever enough to know something beyond their perception had happened, even if they didn’t know exactly what.

“I think so too.”

Damon left them as the pair entered Morgan’s room, but he could feel a cat’s glare at his back.

He laughed.

“‘Night, Newbie. Night, Keaton.”

“Good night?” Morga called back, uncertainly.

Something in Damon was more relaxed than it had been before. Something the size of a bobcat could certainly protect Morgan, even if the tiny traveler themself could not.

_ I will destroy you. _

_ I hope you would. _

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know why I made Keaton have no chill at the end there. I think he's just setting some ground rules.


End file.
